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The RinkFor the not so ready for prime-time players, coaches, referees, and the people that have to live with them. Discuss experiences in local leagues, coaching tips, equipment, and training.

Thanks that's great info. I've had Elite red and after 3 months (about 30 skates) they're starting to loosen. Not too bad though and they was no problem with too much wax to start with them. Will definitely check out Graf - had not heard of them.

BTW, which Elite lace colors apart from black did you find wore out of wax too soon? That's a bigger issue for me than too much wax.

Yellow ones were not bad. Red ones were the worst ... unfortunately since that was the kids' favored colorway. If you're able to open the box without unravelling the laces, you can actually tell that some aren't as waxy as others to begin with.

One of my kids also tried the Elite Oval laces that were waxed. They were pretty good, but too much for my daughter who started to lace up her own skates last year. She couldn't undo those ones without my help. I would have used them instead but they're about 12 inches shorter than I need.

I'm guessing any shop that carry Graf skates likely sells their laces. I get mine at Source for Sports stores in Toronto.

So what exactly happens at "Stick and Puck" sessions? Apparently my local rink now has a weekly "Puck Shoot Event" that I'm assuming is where they'll put the nets out, you bring your equipment and you can practice shooting, skating, stick handling etc. But will there be people who set up a pick up game or something? Or will it just be chaos with people shooting all over and doing all kinds of different things?

EDIT: Obviously it'll vary from rink to rink as far as what it's like, but really I just want to see what different experiences people have at these kinds of things and whether or not it's worth it for me to buy the gear and start going to these before I join a league.

Usually one end is occupied by a handful of high schoolers who are shooting and skating and doing mini drills, there's inevitably one E-W lane that's got a dad trying to teach several kids how to skate, and then another group of mites running drills in another end, a handful of 8-10 year olds weaving in and out of everyone's way, and then I have nothing to do but shoot a puck at the boards because that's the only tiny amount of space left.

But sometimes there's only a few people out and the whole fresh ice and net is yours and it's awesome.

My experience with Elite waxes a few years back was they were WAY too waxy. I mean you'd tie them and they'd still have loops standing up. My pair from this year was much better, almost as good as Graf.

So what exactly happens at "Stick and Puck" sessions? Apparently my local rink now has a weekly "Puck Shoot Event" that I'm assuming is where they'll put the nets out, you bring your equipment and you can practice shooting, skating, stick handling etc. But will there be people who set up a pick up game or something? Or will it just be chaos with people shooting all over and doing all kinds of different things?

EDIT: Obviously it'll vary from rink to rink as far as what it's like, but really I just want to see what different experiences people have at these kinds of things and whether or not it's worth it for me to buy the gear and start going to these before I join a league.

typically stick and puck sessions expressly say no scrimmaging. As you thought it's just for practicing skills etc. Now they won't mind if people work on some passing but in my experience, scrimmaging is verboten

I've only been to a stick n puck once, normally just go to drop-in, and it was pretty terrible. A bunch of kids skating with their heads down, not looking where they were going, and skating in front of the net as you are about to shoot. Eventually a few of us broke in half and played a cross ice game which was pretty fun.

Where I live they usually call it public hockey and it can really be anything. If there's only a handful of people it's usually just shooting/passing/stickhandling practice. If there's more than 5 a side we play a pickup game, lights on darks.

Where I live they usually call it public hockey and it can really be anything. If there's only a handful of people it's usually just shooting/passing/stickhandling practice. If there's more than 5 a side we play a pickup game, lights on darks.

Back in Vancouver, if enough people are willing, we just play half rink hockey.

Same rules as half court basketball, blueline to clear and change possession, but not a lot of shooting because most folks go without full gear. Just passing plays and only shots on goal if the shooter can guarantee a SOG without hitting someone.

Good stuff! It's all about ice-time, skating and stickhandling are mostly muscle memory. The game knowledge and anticipation comes with playing (duh!). Especially early on, the more you play the faster you'll see improvements in your game. The challenge I'm finding is dealing with hitting plateaus. I still have plenty to work on but the improvements are more subtle and incremental than they were when I first started which is a bit frustrating at times. But then you'll see you can do something that you couldn't do before and it's pretty satisfying. Good luck!

Yeah I can definitely tell I'm improving already. Still horrible but I'm having fun. Tuesday one of the kids skated back to the bench and said "You're up old man" so that was the highlight of my week.
At pickup the last few days there have been a bunch of kids that are on high school or travel teams, and one guy who plays college hockey. The high school kids mostly just want to dangle all over or pass it to their buddies, but oddly enough the college kid actually passes to me once in a while and is really cool.
Today he went bar down glove side from a ridiculous angle and all the HS kids were like

Usually one end is occupied by a handful of high schoolers who are shooting and skating and doing mini drills, there's inevitably one E-W lane that's got a dad trying to teach several kids how to skate, and then another group of mites running drills in another end, a handful of 8-10 year olds weaving in and out of everyone's way, and then I have nothing to do but shoot a puck at the boards because that's the only tiny amount of space left.

But sometimes there's only a few people out and the whole fresh ice and net is yours and it's awesome.

This is about right here. The weekend stick & puck's are a cluster, but they have weekday afternoon sessions that are better. Stick & puck here is usually "no shinny allowed" but if there are only a few people they don't really care what you do.

Reading some of the threads here I'm starting to realize we're kind of spoiled... Our rink has 6 drop-in sessions, 4-5 stick & puck, and 4-5 public skates every week.
And we have another rink where our junior team plays that does lunch drop-in on fridays during the winter too.

Thanks for the replies, folks. I think I'll give the rink a call tomorrow afternoon. See what exactly this whole thing is, see what they have with drop in games and such, and then see where to go from there as far as buying equipment and all that.

My experience with Elite waxes a few years back was they were WAY too waxy. I mean you'd tie them and they'd still have loops standing up. My pair from this year was much better, almost as good as Graf.

That was my exact experience as well. I got a pair of black laces a few years ago and they were way too waxy, and would actually leave wax residue on my hands. My current pair is just right. Dunno if they changed the way they make them or if it's just an inconsistency.

Started with public skates in March, and Stick and pucks about a month ago. Don't really have a class here, just clinics...

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattB43

I started with just public skate, then stick & puck. Haven't seen any beginner classes available here.

I've been doing public skate since the beginning of April, and am getting to the point where i want to start doing hockey stuff, but i'm not sure whether to take an adult hockey for beginners class or to just go to stick and puck and hope to pick it up on my own. From hearing what everyone has been saying about stick and puck, i'm leaning towards the class just because I don't expect it to be nearly as hectic.

I'm curious how many complete beginners (guys who didn't play when they were younger) took a hockey for beginners class? How many just started going to either pick up or stick and puck?

I took a beginners class when I started at 15. It was sort of embarrassing because it was an all ages class and most of the people out there were kids half my age, but it really helped with the fundamentals.

I've been doing public skate since the beginning of April, and am getting to the point where i want to start doing hockey stuff, but i'm not sure whether to take an adult hockey for beginners class or to just go to stick and puck and hope to pick it up on my own. From hearing what everyone has been saying about stick and puck, i'm leaning towards the class just because I don't expect it to be nearly as hectic.

Without knowing the specifics, I recommend that you take the class, you'll probably learn more and faster than doing just stick 'n puck because it will force you to work on stuff you might not want to (forces discipline). You could then use S&P to work on what you've done in class. At least I know that's the best approach for me.

Since this has turned into a bit of a bragfest , I'm gonna brag a bit myself - got 3 goals and an assist in our 7-2 win last night. And honestly all pretty nice goals from going hard to the net and being in good position in the slot. Goalie stoned me on another couple of shots too. Good times.

Yeah I can definitely tell I'm improving already. Still horrible but I'm having fun. Tuesday one of the kids skated back to the bench and said "You're up old man" so that was the highlight of my week.
At pickup the last few days there have been a bunch of kids that are on high school or travel teams, and one guy who plays college hockey. The high school kids mostly just want to dangle all over or pass it to their buddies, but oddly enough the college kid actually passes to me once in a while and is really cool.
Today he went bar down glove side from a ridiculous angle and all the HS kids were like

Cool, having fun is what it's all about. And HS and college kids can be the worst, I played one pick-up game where this kid was head and shoulders better than everyone else and he'd just do end to end rushes all night without passing. Annoying to say the least. Then near the end someone laid him out coming over the blue line line and he got the message and actually started passing.

Yeah I can definitely tell I'm improving already. Still horrible but I'm having fun. Tuesday one of the kids skated back to the bench and said "You're up old man" so that was the highlight of my week.
At pickup the last few days there have been a bunch of kids that are on high school or travel teams, and one guy who plays college hockey. The high school kids mostly just want to dangle all over or pass it to their buddies, but oddly enough the college kid actually passes to me once in a while and is really cool.
Today he went bar down glove side from a ridiculous angle and all the HS kids were like

The drop-in I go to is consistently about 1/3 guys on the college team. Most of them are way cool, pass a lot, and are always willing to give out pointers and advice. It's especially fun when there's a college guy or two playing net because they'll go all out on him.

I played my first game a week ago. I played roller hockey as a kid, but never ice. I decided to just jump into a clinic scrimmage. I could skate pretty well, hadn't skated with a stick in 10 years though. My first game I fell a couple of times, took an accidental check, but I looked okay and had some decent chances as well as an assist. I had no wind though and my body was confused with these new motions. The second game I played went far better. I had more wind, skated better (and got a nice new stick). First shot I took ripped through some legs off a post and in. Good feeling! I recommend anyone who can skate pretty decent to just suit up and jump into a pickup game. Worst that happens is you suck, and most guys have no issues with someone ballsy enough to play.